


snowed in

by damapintada



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Oblivious Zuko (Avatar), Resolved Sexual Tension, Sharing a Bed, Winter Solstice, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Zutara Holiday Exchange 2020, cause this fic has ALL OF THEM, get your zutara fanfic trope bingo cards out folks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:07:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28373640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damapintada/pseuds/damapintada
Summary: Traveling together for the holidays, Katara and Zuko are stranded after a blizzard hits the city they're in. They manage to find a place to stay, butthere was only one bed.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 29
Kudos: 291
Collections: Zutara Holiday Exchange 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blackhawkdown](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackhawkdown/gifts).



> for the zutara holiday exchange 2020! i was given a few prompts to work with, but i tried to go with holidays + romcom tropes + something steamy, hopefully this delivers. i went in thinking i would write like 4k max but heh. these two losers just ... kept on going. apologies for posting a day late (and for posting in parts) but i hope you like this, kitty! 
> 
> also want to give a shoutout to aj and kay who have listened to me have meltdowns about writing this for about a month now. love you guys! ❤️

“Are you sure there’s absolutely nothing left?” Zuko asked again, his voice tight. The young man at the front desk gave him a tired look, clearly tired of being harassed. 

“Please, if you could just take one more look, we would really appreciate it,” Katara chimed in, trying to smooth things over. “We’ve tried every hotel in the area, we just need somewhere to sleep. Please.” 

“Look, I’ve already told you that we’re booked to full occupancy. This is a busy time of year, and the blizzard cancelling flights has pushed us to the limit,” the man sighed, staring back down at his computer screen. “I’ll check again but it’s going to be the same answer as it was half an hour ago.” He clicked through a few times, the blue light of the screen highlighting dark circles under his eyes. 

“Just as I told you earlier, we’re all—oh.” The man paused with a look of surprise. 

Katara and Zuko looked at each other, then back at the man, hope in their eyes. Katara leaned in closer. “Oh? What’s that mean?”

“We… We have a room available. Someone must have just cancelled at the last minute,” he explained, his eyebrows furrowing. “That’s so bizarre,” he said in a low voice, clearly not intending for them to hear. He looked back at them and schooled his face into a polite expression. “It must be your lucky day. Perhaps the spirits of the winter solstice are looking down favorably on you two,” he said. “I’ll get the booking started, I’ll just need an ID and a credit card for payment and to keep on file for incidentals.”

He’d barely finished his sentence when Zuko slammed his credit card and ID down on the desk. The receptionist and Katara both looked at him in surprise, Katara’s mouth already opened to complain about him paying, but Zuko held a hand up. “We’ll talk about it upstairs.” 

Her mouth shut with a click and she narrowed her eyes at him, but said nothing. The receptionist resisted the urge to roll his eyes, having already seen his fair share of stressed out couples arguing today. He snatched up the cards before either of them could change their mind and started the process of checking them in. 

“There’ll be a charge on the card, but it’s just a pre-authorization, if you don’t purchase anything, the charge will disappear in a few days,” he said coolly, swiping the credit card, and activating their key card. 

“Oh, thank you so much…” Katara’s eyes drifted down to the name tag above the receptionist’s lapel, “Yong. We really appreciate all the help you’ve given us today, I know that you must’ve been swamped.” She gave him a warm smile. 

“It’s no problem, ma’am,” Yong replied. He stuffed the key card into an envelope and wrote their room number on it. “Your room is 314, on the third floor. Here are your things, Mr. Sozin. We hope you enjoy your stay, please don’t hesitate to call the front desk should you need anything,” he said, his expression clearly indicated that he’d really rather they wouldn’t. 

Zuko took back the cards and mumbled “thanks,” nodding at Yong before grabbing the handle of his suitcase. “Thank you, Yong!” Katara said cheerily, following not far behind. Yong gave them a polite smile until they were out of sight, letting out a deep sigh and shaking his head. 

— 

As soon as they stepped onto the elevator, Katara pounced. 

“Zuko,” she hissed, swatting at his arm. “Did you have to be so rude? The poor guy was just doing his job!” 

“Ow!” he winced, rubbing where Katara hit him. “It’s not my fault he was being a prick!” 

“Ugh,” Katara rolled her eyes. “He’s tired and probably had to deal with about a hundred people coming in here looking for a room because of the storm. You could stand to have some empathy, you know.” 

The elevator dinged for their floor and they stepped off, following the signs to their room number. 

“Katara, I know what it’s like to work in customer service, if you’ve forgotten,” Zuko said, looking at her over his shoulder as he walked ahead of her. “And he was absolutely being a prick.” 

“So he wasn’t the nicest,” Katara admitted grudgingly. “But it’s the holidays, you could have at least tried to be understanding instead of getting huffy right away.” 

Zuko shrugged, clearly not wanting to continue the conversation. He came to a stop in front of a door. “Here we are,” he said, a beeping noise and the sound of the door unlocking followed the press of the key card. They rolled their suitcases in, turning the lights on as the door clicked shut behind them. 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Zuko said, taking in sight of the room. It was a perfectly standard room for a mid-scale hotel, with all the usual furnishings: a television, a nightstand with a lamp, a small table and two chairs, ensuite bathroom, and finally— one comically small bed. 

“Wow,” Katara said. “Um, aren’t hotel beds supposed to be a lot bigger than that?” She looked at Zuko with an eyebrow raised. Zuko’s face was blank, but he was having a full blown internal panic attack. Despite Yong’s assumption, Zuko and Katara were in fact very much _not_ together. 

They had been best friends since they were teenagers— an unlikely friendship at first, but one forged through many tear-inducing talks, secrets shared in the safety of darkness, and leaning on each other through hard times. Now, a decade later, they were still as close as ever, despite no longer living in the same city as each other. Neither distance or the fair share of relationships both had throughout the years had done much to rid Zuko of his enormous crush on Katara. For years, he told himself it was nothing more than a boyhood crush on a pretty friend, but the feelings lingered. And now, here he was—stranded in a strange city the day before a holiday, stuck in a room with a too-small bed and the girl he’s lov—had a crush on since he was seventeen. He groaned.

“Zuko, are you okay?” Katara asked, placing a hand on his arm, her blue eyes looking at him in worry. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. “Yep. I’m fine,” he ground out. “Let me call the front desk and see if they can do anything about this.” 

“I really don’t—” Katara started, but Zuko cut her off. 

“Let me at least try.”

He walked over to the phone, punching in the number from the directory. 

“Hello, Mr. Sozin, how can we help?” It was the tired voice of the receptionist at the front desk. He resisted the urge to yell, and instead very calmly tried to explain the issue. 

“Hi. we just checked in but I think there was a mistake, there’s only one bed? Maybe there’s another room—”

“Mr. Sozin, as I explained earlier, you took the very last room in the entire hotel. There are no more rooms available,” he cut in sharply. 

“Right, but there’s two of us, and only one bed, are you sure there’s—”

“Mr. Sozin, sir, with all due respect, I do recall you saying that you would take ‘anything,’ did you not?” The receptionist’s voice was starting to rise, clearly at his wits’ end. “It’s not my fault that you and your girlfriend can’t stand to stay in the same room as each other!”

“She’s not my—” 

“Now, if you don’t need anything else, I’m going to hang up now. Thank you, Mr. Sozin.” The line went dead, and Zuko pulled the receiver away from his ear and stared at it in shock. 

“Well?” Katara asked expectantly, raising an eyebrow at Zuko, who was still standing dumbfoundedly by the phone. 

“He said there were no more rooms. Then he started yelling at me,” he explained with a grimace. 

“I told you, you should have been nicer to him. You totally deserved that,” she said with a shrug. 

Zuko huffed and slumped down into one of the chairs, scrubbing a hand down his face. Katara sat down at the foot at the bed, facing him. 

“I guess I’ll sleep on the floor or something, maybe they have a cot we can borrow…” He trailed off. 

“Zuko, don’t be ridiculous. We can share the bed, it’s not a big deal,” she said easily. “It’ll be just like old times, remember? When we used to have sleepovers at my house with everyone back in high school.” She smiled at the memory.

“That’s obviously different, Katara. We all used to just pile a bunch of blankets on the floor, not sleep in the same bed,” he said. 

“What, are you scared of sleeping next to little old me?” she teased, eyes sparkling in amusement. 

_Yes,_ he thought, his heart beating just a bit faster. 

“No,” he lied. “I just don’t want to put you out, that’s all.” 

“I’m telling you it’s fine. Besides, don’t think I haven’t forgotten that you paid for the room.” She put both of her hands down on the bed and pushed herself back up to stand. “Let’s talk about this some more later, okay? Are you hungry? I saw there was a restaurant attached to the hotel while we were coming in.”

“I guess I am,” he said, mulling it over. “Maybe we can go grab an early dinner.”

“Perfect. You settle in, I’m going to shower to get the airplane smell off of me, then we’ll go downstairs, sound good?” 

Zuko nodded at her dumbly, watching as she started unzipping her suitcase and gathering her things. 

—

All freshened up, they made their way back downstairs for their meal. The restaurant Katara mentioned was on the ground floor of the hotel, with a side entrance through the lobby that gave guests easy access. They passed the front desk again, Zuko’s eyes wandered the lobby until they locked gazes with the surly receptionist again. Yong’s eyes narrowed into a glare, his lips pursing as if he meant to say something, and Zuko quickly looked away.He took hold of Katara’s arm and hastened their pace across the lobby, wanting to get out of Yong’s sight as soon as possible. 

“What are you grabbing me for?” Katara asked, squirming out of his grip and looking at him reproachfully. 

“It’s that front desk guy,” Zuko hissed, his eyes darting back to the desk, where Yong was still glaring at their retreating figures. “He’s looking at us weird. I have no idea what the fuck his problem is.” 

Katara rolled her eyes at his behavior. “Again, do I need to remind you that you were being a complete asshole earlier?” 

“He started it!” Zuko said defensively. 

Katara ignored him and continued, “Now he’s going to remember our faces and your name and room number and we’re not going to get _any_ help at all if we call the front desk, and all because you couldn’t be nice to some poor overworked receptionist for five— _oh._ ” 

Her tirade was cut off with a small gasp as they reached the side entrance to the restaurant. Zuko came to a stop beside her. “Woah,” he said quietly. 

The restaurant was sectioned off into dining seating with table service, and a bar area that resembled a tavern, complete with a fireplace and comfortable looking couches around it. Everything was wood-paneled, in contrast with the more modern look of the hotel lobby they had just walked out of. What gave them pause, though, was the decor— floor to ceiling was furnished with decorations for the winter solstice. Colorful lights were strung all along the ceiling, and garlands and wreaths of holly and fir adorned with silver and gold ribbons hung wherever possible. 

A touch obnoxious if you asked Zuko, but he knew that Katara would love it. Sure enough, she turned to him with a smile playing at her lips and a delighted twinkle in her eyes. He couldn’t help but smile back at her, a feeling of warmth settling low in his stomach at the sight of her smile. 

“Isn’t it pretty?” she asked, her voice wistful. 

“Yeah, it is,” he replied, but his eyes lingering on her face. He let his gaze linger a moment too long before he coughed and looked away awkwardly. “Uh, wanna go get that food now?” he said, changing the subject. He shrugged a shoulder towards the dining area. 

She nodded and they sat themselves at a table, where a waitress quickly came over to serve them, launching into a spiel as soon as she reached them. 

“Welcome! Here are your menus, I’ll let you two look over them, but we do have some chef’s specials tonight if you’re interested, stewed komodo chicken with sea prunes and rice, a lobs—” 

“Wait, I’m sorry for interrupting, but did you just say komodo chicken and sea prunes?” Katara stopped the waitress.

The young woman stopped, clearly thrown off her rhythm, and looked at Katara with a confused expression. “...Yes?” she replied.

“Like… in the same dish? Together?” Katara asked again, an eyebrow raised. The waitress looked to Zuko, confusion written across her face, but he only shrugged helplessly at her, himself not knowing where Katara was going with her line of questioning. 

She looked back at Katara nervously, “Um, yes…” she trailed off. 

“Very strange,” Katara said, brows furrowing in thought. 

“I’ll leave you to look over the menus and be back soon to take your drink orders,” the waitress said in a rush, quickly taking her leave before Katara could ask any more questions. 

“She didn’t even finish telling us the specials,” Zuko said, frowning. He looked at Katara, who still seemed to be puzzling over the dish. “Why did you keep asking her about the chicken?” 

“Didn’t you hear her? Komodo chicken and sea prunes? Have you ever heard of those two things being cooked together?” 

Komodo chicken was a staple of Fire Nation cuisine, usually roasted or sauteed and heavily spiced. Sea prunes were a specialty of the Southern Water Tribe, and were part of one of Katara’s favorite foods— sea prune stew. Zuko himself had tried it a few times out of politeness when he’d stayed over Katara’s for dinner during high school, but he wasn’t a fan of it, finding it overly salted and the texture strangely mushy, yet chewy. He tried to reconcile the two foods in his mind but found himself gagging.

“See!” Katara said triumphantly at his look of disgust. “Doesn’t it sound weird?” 

“Yeah, I wonder what’s the deal with that…” 

“I’m going to order it.” 

“Katara.” 

“Zuko.”

“Why would you order that after just convincing me how gross it is?” He gave her a skeptical look.

“Well, aren’t you curious? When else am I going to be able to eat something like that?” she said conspiratorially, leaning closer to him over the table.

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and then you’re gonna find out that it’s as disgusting as it sounds, and end up eating my food instead while I starve.”

“You’re so dramatic,” Katara said with a grin. “But you know me so well.” 

Zuko huffed and looked over the menu, taking a mental note to order an extra side for Katara to steal from. 

The waitress came back and took their orders before scurrying off again. Looking around the restaurant, he noted that there were quite a few more people dining than one would expect, especially the night before a major holiday, no doubt travelers stranded by the storm like themselves. 

“Shit,” Katara said suddenly, interrupting his train of thought.

“What happened?” 

She fiddled with her phone, “I forgot to update Sokka on what’s going on, he and Suki are blowing up my messages right now. I’m going to facetime them before the food comes so they know we’re still alive.” 

Zuko snorted but realized that in their preoccupation to find a place to stay, he’d also neglected to give his uncle any updates on his whereabouts. “I’ll call Uncle while you do that,” he told Katara.

She looked up from her screen with a smile. “Tell him I said hi!” 

He nodded before dialing. To his surprise, the phone rang for much longer than he would’ve expected, before his uncle picked up, greeting him boisterously.

“Ah! My dear nephew, is that you?” he yelled. Zuko could hear what seemed like several people chattering in the background, and some music.

“Hi Uncle, yeah, it’s me. Are you busy right now?”

“For you Zuko, I am never too busy,” he said earnestly. Zuko couldn’t help the small smile that crept on his lips. 

“I’m just calling to let you know that Katara and I found a hotel and we’ll be staying the night in Selin. The storm should be cleared out by tomorrow morning, and we’ll be heading back to the airport for our new flight,” Zuko explained. 

“That is wonderful to hear. It must have been difficult to find a place on such short notice.” 

“Yeah, we got lucky. We booked the last room in the hotel.”

“Oh?” His uncle’s voice perked up. “Room, you say? Are you and Katara sharing?”

“...Yes,” Zuko said hesitantly, not liking where the conversation was headed.

“Two handsome young people sharing a hotel room the night before the winter solstice—”

“ _Uncle_ —”

“—how very romantic, I hope you remembered to bring some protection!” he said cheerfully, laughing to himself. “Or perhaps not, you’re already twenty-se—”

“Uncle, if you don’t stop, I’m going to hang up,” Zuko hissed, feeling his face heat up instantly. “Are you drunk?” 

“Of course I am, nephew. I am drunk on life itself!” he exclaimed suddenly, and Zuko heard a few cheers from the background. “Though, yes, I must admit that I have indulged in a glass or two of soju tonight,” he added sheepishly. 

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Alright then, I’m gonna go now.” 

“Please do say hello to Katara for me!”

“I’ll text you tomorrow, goodbye Uncle,” Zuko said, ignoring his comment and hanging up. He pinched the bridge of his nose, while Katara’s voice filtered in.

“—talking to Iroh right now. Oh, wait, he just got off the phone. Do you guys wanna talk to him?” 

Zuko looked up at this, and Katara met his eyes briefly before her gaze shifted to something behind him. She focused on her attention back on the phone, “Actually, we’re about to eat, so I’ll just tell him you said hi. I’ll keep you updated through text. Yep. Love you too, bye!” She said, waving to the phone screen, before hanging up and putting her phone down, as the waitress arrived with their food. 

The waitress set down their dinner before them, offered a brief “enjoy!”, and then scurried off leaving them to themselves. 

Katara made a soft noise of surprise at the sight of her dish. It didn’t really look like what Zuko had imagined komodo chicken and sea prunes cooked together would look like, but then again, he hadn’t really been able to imagine anything at all. Her meal looked edibleat the very least — it looked like a plate of braised meat and vegetables in a tomato-y broth with rice. Whether it was as edible as it looked was anyone’s guess.

Zuko had decided to stick with a basic hot sandwich and an extra side of fries for Katara’s inevitable ransacking of his dinner. 

He started digging in without a word, his hunger getting the better of him. He saw Katara start to eat and paused for a second, waiting expectantly for her reaction. She took a bite and her eyebrows furrowed. 

“Well?” Zuko asked.

She ignored him and went for a second bite, as if to confirm what that initial forkful had told her. 

“Zuko…” Katara started slowly. “This is actually _amazing_.” 

He regarded her skeptically. “Is it really, or are you just too stubborn to admit that you ordered something gross?” 

“No! It really is good,” she said between bites. “Do you wanna try some?”

Zuko made a face. “You know I don’t like sea prunes.” 

Katara snorted. “Right, I forgot that you’re the weirdo that pretends to like sea prune stew for years without saying anything.” 

“Oh come on, it’s been years, and I was just being polite!”

“Zuko, that was literally just last year. The only reason we even found out is because Sokka outed you to Gran-Gran!”

“Shut up,” he said, feeling his ears heat up.

“Just try it. It doesn’t really taste like how sea prunes usually do anyway, it’s really good,” Katara said, gesturing towards her plate.

“Alright,” he agreed, knowing that she wouldn’t let up. He went to pick up his own fork to take from her plate, until he heard her say “here.” 

She had some food already lined up for him, leaning over the table slightly to reach him, and her other hand cupped under a spoon so that the food wouldn’t spill. 

“Oh, um—” he started awkwardly, but Katara kept going until the spoon hovered right by his mouth. He opened it and reached over a bit so that he could meet her, and one of her fingers brushed the bottom of his lip. His eyes met hers across the table, and they both froze for just a second, before she broke the moment by pulling the spoon away.

In all his years of knowing Katara, and over possibly hundreds of meals shared together, she had never fed him directly like that. The gesture, combined with the barest touch of her hand, felt strangely intimate in a way he couldn’t quite describe. 

“So? What do you think?” her voice broke through his thoughts. She was looking at him with an excited smile now, waiting for his answer. “Good, right?” 

Zuko, too preoccupied with what had just happened, had gone on autopilot and chewed and swallowed without even tasting the food. He simply nodded. “Yeah, uh, it was good.” 

She beamed. “I knew you would like it too.” She looked back down at the food thoughtfully. “Who knew that Fire Nation and Water Tribe food could go so well together?” 

He gave it some thought. “Honestly, it’s a little weird that we’re trying Water Tribe and Fire Nation fusion food for the first time in some random Earth Kingdom city.” 

“Is it?” she asked, her face still thoughtful. “I mean, after all, we met in the Earth Kingdom didn’t we? How come we never thought of something like that before?” 

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Bringing together our two cultures. Why haven’t we done that before?” 

Zuko had the distinct feeling she wasn’t talking about food anymore, but also did not know what in spirits’ name she was on about. So he shrugged. “I don’t know.” 

Katara looked at him curiously but shifted her attention back to her food again. “Hmm,” she said, and left the conversation at that. 

Zuko didn’t quite know what to say and he was very hungry, so they finished the rest of their meal in silence. 

They paid for their food and Zuko stood to leave. Before he could make his way to the lobby, Katara stopped him with a gentle hand on his forearm.

“It’s still early, do you want to have some drinks before bed?” she asked with a hopeful smile.

Grateful that she broke the semi-awkward silence, he nodded, his own lips quirked up in a tentative smile back. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

The bar area of the restaurant was now busier than it was before, but not overly crowded. He scanned the room and was surprised to see an empty sofa by the fireplace. 

“Katara, why don’t you go grab that couch and I can get us drinks?” he suggested.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten that you paid for the room.” Katara said, giving him a look. “Go sit and I’ll get this round, okay?” 

“But—”

“Zuko, let me,” she said, and he felt her soft touch on his arm again. “Please?” 

He sighed. 

Katara didn’t need him to say anything to know she’d won this argument. “What do you want to drink?” she asked, practically preening. 

“Just get me whatever,” he shrugged. 

“I’ll be right back,” she said, squeezing his arm lightly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a million thank yous to the wonderful [ajstyling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ajstyling/pseuds/ajstyling) for the fabulous beta and endless support. many thanks also to the fabulous [thetasteoflies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetasteoflies/pseuds/thetasteoflies) and [goldilocks23](https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldilocks23/pseuds/goldilocks23) for listening to me cry and rant about this thing for the last what feels like hundred years, and for all the cheerleading. i appreciate it so very much ❤️
> 
> my apologies for the delays, but here it is! the conclusion to this silly, tropey story. i hope everyone enjoys! happy new year!

“Shots? Agni, Katara, are you trying to get us wasted?” 

“They were on the house!” Katara said, placing a tray with four shot glasses and two cocktails down on the table in front of the couch. “I couldn’t say no to free booze, could I? The bartender seemed pretty drunk and was just giving them out to everyone,” she explained with a shrug. 

He picked up one of the shots and handed another to Katara as she settled in beside him. “What is it?” he said, inspecting it carefully so as to not spill any. 

“I’m not sure. His exact words were ‘it’ll taste like winter in your mouth,’” she said. “Cheers?” 

He clinked his glass against hers. “Cheers,” he said, before downing it. 

‘Winter in your mouth’ was a generous description for the vile taste that assaulted Zuko’s sensest. “Liquid pine tree” seemed more apt, Zuko thought, as a strange burn in his throat caused him to start coughing. He immediately grabbed one of the other drinks, desperate to rid himself of the pine-y aftertaste. 

“That was…” Katara trailed off, tilting her head with a curious expression on her face, “...interesting,” she finished. 

“That was fucking _disgusting_ , is what it was,” Zuko said, glaring over his shoulder at the man behind the bar who was currently bent over backwards laughing at something. “Are you sure the bartender wasn’t trying to kill you?” 

“Don’t be such a drama queen.” 

“I don’t know, Katara, maybe the front desk guy asked him to poison us or something,” he said.

She snorted. “I wouldn’t be surprised, with the way you treated him.” 

“Again, he was the one who started it,” he said, taking another swig from his drink. Katara had brought them some kind of hot cocktail, served in a glass with sugar crusted rim. 

Katara scooted closer to him and brought her hand up to his face. “You’ve got something there,” she said. His breath hitched slightly as her thumb brushed off some stray sugar crystals from the corner of his mouth. For a moment, he was mesmerized with the way the flickering flames from the fireplace behind him seemed to make her skin glow as if lit from within. His fingers twitched with a need to reach out and see if she would be as warm to the touch as she looked. 

_Get it together,_ he scolded himself. He cleared his throat and looked away for a moment, before speaking again. 

“Uh, so, how are Suki and Sokka?” he asked. “You were pretty quick to hang up on them.”

Katara’s cheeks flushed, but whether it was from the alcohol or something else, he didn’t know. “Oh,” she started, her voice a bit high. “They’re fine, um— Suki was just being silly, but they’re great. How’s Iroh doing?” 

“He was at a party when I called— drunk and having a good time,” Zuko said with a small smile and a shake of his head. “It’s kind of silly still calling him to check in at my age, but I don’t know… I feel like I owe it to him, somehow. I was such an ass when I was younger, so I try to make it up to him in whatever way I can.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself. I know your uncle would love to hear from you, no matter how old you get. It’s not a transaction, that’s just what you do with people who care for you.” 

“Yeah, you’re right, I guess. I still have to remind myself of that, sometimes, you know?” he said, shrugging. 

Katara nodded, and they lapsed into a brief but comfortable silence, before she perked up.

“Ready for that second shot?” she grinned.

Zuko looked at the shot glasses, still sitting untouched on the table, and grimaced. “No.” 

“Oh come on Zuko, it wasn’t that bad.”

“If it wasn’t that bad, then why did we just leave them there instead of knocking them back?”

She rolled her eyes, “Alright, so they took some getting used to. Just down it and then you can get back to your drink.” 

Zuko groaned but said nothing, resigning himself to his pine-fresh fate.

Katara raised her glass with a twinkle in her eye. “To the people we love.”

He swallowed and clinked his glass against hers once more. “Cheers,” he said, finding himself unable to echo her toast. 

Knowing what to expect made the drink go down a bit easier, but he found himself playing up his reaction just to annoy Katara. He leaned over her, hacking dramatically. “I’m dying,” he rasped out, reaching out towards her. “Help me.” 

Katara swatted at him, laughing. “Stop getting your germs all over me, you baby.” 

He gave a last cough before he straightened and settled back into the couch with a smile. He felt the haze of the alcohol settling in, warmth settling deep in his belly as he looked at Katara, who was watching him. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes still had that mischievous sparkle to them. He’d always thought that she had such pretty eyes, and not even the darkened lighting of the bar could dim the deep blue of her eyes. Sometimes, he swore that he could drown in them— 

“—Zuko?”

“Huh?” he said dumbly. 

“I said, are you okay?” Katara was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “You spaced out there for a bit.”

“Oh, um, yeah, sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Guess I’m just tired.” 

“You okay? We can go upstairs soon if you want?” she asked, putting a hand on his thigh. All at once, he realized that she was close enough for their knees to touch, the length of her calf pressed against his. He swallowed thickly. 

“No, no, I’m fine, we can stay longer,” he reassured her. She nodded slowly, her face thoughtful for a few moments before she spoke again. 

“Hey,” she started. “How’s your mom? You haven’t mentioned her in a while. Everything okay?” 

He felt a pang of guilt go through him. He hoped she hadn’t noticed, but it was Katara. _Of course_ she noticed. He looked away from her, his hand fidgeting in his lap. “She’s… fine.” 

Katara narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing him. “You’re lying. What happened?” 

He let out a sigh. “She really is fine. I just haven’t been talking to her for some time.” 

Katara’s brow furrowed, “What happened?” 

“Last time I visited her… well, you know Kiyi is fifteen now, right?” 

Katara nodded. “Right, go on.”

“At that age, you don’t really want to talk to your parents about your problems, you know how it is… I mean, again, look at me and what a shithead I was to Uncle,” Zuko snorted. “But she asked mom if she could get in contact with Azula, I guess to talk to her about things she didn’t feel comfortable telling me. Mom said no and I think they had a fight about it or something. When I visited them that day, Kiyi started asking me a bunch of questions about Azula and whether she would be willing to talk to her.” He paused, and a frown slowly formed on his face. 

“Mom was there, listening to us… and she said some things about Azula that I didn’t like. Things like that Azula was a shitty person inside and that Kiyi would be better off not contacting her at all,” Zuko said. “Well, she didn’t say it exactly like that, but I could read between the lines.” 

Katara didn’t interrupt him. She continued looking at him attentively, her concerned expression never leaving her face. The combination of alcohol coursing through his veins and Katara’s unwavering focus on him let the words flow out of him easier than they usually would have.

When he spoke again, Zuko’s voice was smaller. “To hear her talk about her own daughter like that… It kind of hurt. I mean… she was the one who left _us_ … like she thought we weren’t worth being around or something? If she can say those things about Azula in front of me, then what does she say about me when I’m not there?” He finished, choking up.

“Oh Zuko…” The hand that was on his thigh moved to the crook of his arm, and she traced softly down the line of his forearm until their hands intertwined, giving him a reassuring squeeze. “Did you say anything to her?” she asked gently.

“Yeah, I did. I told Kiyi that I had to talk to Mom alone, she was annoyed, but I didn’t want to fight in front of her. We had a really big argument, I told her that she was out of line saying those things and not letting Kiyi see her own sister. She disagreed with me, and she said some pretty fucked up stuff about her. So I haven’t talked to her since.” He sighed. “I know that’s immature of me, but… Azula doesn’t have anyone in her corner. I couldn’t let Mom of all people talk about her that way.” 

“I’m really sorry, Zuko. That sounds like a really tough situation to be in,” Katara said. “How long ago was that?”

“A little bit ago,” he mumbled, a pang of guilt hitting him.

“How long?” she pressed.

Zuko sighed, feeling another pang of guilt. “Um, two, maybe three months ago?”

“ _Three months?_ Zuko, why didn’t you tell me?” she said, her voice tinged with genuine hurt. 

_Fuck,_ he thought to himself. Since his mother had come back into his life, he had found himself in a precarious position when it came to telling Katara about his mom. Their shared trauma of losing their mothers had informed much of their relationship as teens. As an adult, when Ursa suddenly came back, he had been at a loss. Katara had been supportive as always, of course, but it felt wrong to complain about all the ways having his mother back in his life wasn’t what he had hoped it would be. Especially because Katara didn’t have the option of Kya ever coming back. 

As if reading his mind, she spoke again. “Zuko, you know it’s okay to talk to me about your mom, right? I’m not going to get upset or anything.”

“I know, I just—” he ran his free hand through his hair, trying to find the right words. “It’s just not fair to you. I finally got Mom back and all I can do is whine about it? That doesn’t sit right with me, not when you—” 

_—can’t._

The word hung unsaid between them. 

“It’s really fine, Zuko. Just because your mom came back doesn’t change anything between us. If you’re upset, I still want to know about it, even if it’s because of her,” she said, surprising him. “Besides, I’m pretty sure I know how you feel.”

“You do?” he asked, raising his brow. 

“Yeah, remember how upset I would get when Dad would go away for work? You used to listen to me cry about it for hours. Do you know how awful and guilty I used to feel when you would go home and I realized that I was complaining about my father knowing everything that went down with yours?” 

“Yeah, Katara but that’s different, I wasn’t… I wouldn’t have—”

“It’s not different at all. So if something is going on, do me a favor and don’t hide it from me,” she said, giving him a pleading look. 

He took in her earnest expression, and the way the lights hit her eyes just right, making them shine, and sighed.

“I don’t deserve you,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. He hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but he found his mouth had gained a mind of its own with two shots and a drink in his system. 

Katara grinned at him, and squeezed his hand again, “We both deserve each other. We care for each other, and we look out for each other, don’t we?” 

“Right,” Zuko said, feeling like there was something stuck in his throat. Katara’s grin softened into a smile, and she glanced at the table, catching sight of Zuko’s empty cocktail glass. 

“Should I get us another round?”

“No, I—” Zuko started.

“A nightcap? Great idea!” Katara said, standing up and bouncing off to the bar. 

Zuko groaned and flopped back into the sofa, staring up at the decorations on the ceiling. Perhaps it was because of lack of sleep, or general exhaustion, but he felt the alcohol affecting him even more than usual. He was already letting his mouth run and staring too much at Katara, and with one more drink? He wasn’t sure he was going to be able to keep his head on straight, especially once they got upstairs… _Shit._ He had completely forgotten the issue of their sleeping arrangements. He scrubbed his hand down his face, opening his eyes only to see a blurry mess that was supposed to be the silver garlands and twinkling lights clouding his vision. He sat up and blinked a few times to focus. Then Katara appeared again, setting the glasses down on the table. 

She flopped down on the couch, this time leaving no space between them, and hooking her legs over one of his knees. 

“Um—” Zuko started, feeling a rush of heat start to creep up his neck. 

“Pass me my drink,” Katara said. 

He leaned over to grab both of their drinks, his chest brushing over her legs as he leaned back and handed her a steaming glass. She accepted it with a smug smile, sinking back into the couch and looking incredibly pleased with herself. 

“Someone’s comfortable,” Zuko said with a snort, trying to distract himself from the heat of Katara’s body pressed beside him. 

“Very,” she said, looking at him. He angled himself so that he could look at her while they talked, his arm coming to rest on the back of the couch behind Katara, unintentionally letting Katara’s legs slip into the space between his.

He took a large gulp of his drink. 

“You know, I was upset earlier that we weren’t going to make it home in time, but I’m glad things turned out the way they did,” Katara said. 

“Yeah?”

“Mhm. It’s been nice getting to spend time with you. I feel really happy right now,” she said softly. 

He met her eyes, giving her a small smile. “Me too.” 

They looked at each other for a moment longer before Katara dropped her gaze to the glass in her hands. 

“Hey, um, how’s everything with the fellowship? Are you sad about it ending soon?” 

“Oh, it’s been amazing,” Katara said with a contented sigh. “I’m really glad you encouraged me to go. It’s everything I hoped it would be. I’m not sad, though.” 

“You’re not?”

“No, I’m glad to be getting my free time back. I really missed seeing everyone.”

“We missed you too. Toph included, even though she pretends she doesn’t,” he said with a laugh. 

“She’s such an ass,” she snorted. “I’m gonna hug her for 15 minutes straight next time I see her just to piss her off.” 

“I’ll bet you a round of drinks that she doesn’t let you last that long.”

“Oh, it’s on. I have my ways, don’t you worry.” 

“I believe it,” Zuko said, smiling.

Katara looked back down with a smile of her own, a finger tracing the rim of her glass. 

“While I did miss you guys, having that experience was exactly what I needed. You were right, I had to do something just for me. It felt… good, to have this project where I only answered to myself.”

She still hadn’t met his eyes, and Zuko noticed the way her hair fell down around her shoulders in cascading waves, inviting anyone to touch. From where his arm rested on the couch, he reached out to catch a strand of it, playing with it between his fingers. 

She didn’t seem to notice, and continued speaking. “Thanks for giving me that push. I don’t know if I’ll take on something that time consuming again but I’ll keep an open mind next time an opportunity like that comes my way.” 

“That’s good, Katara. You should chase after the things you want.” 

She turned to him then, a strange look on her face. “Yeah, you’re right,” she murmured. “I should.” 

As if a spell was broken, Zuko became aware of their close proximity. At this point, Katara was practically in his lap, her face close enough that he could distinguish the different shades of blue in her eyes, the two birthmarks on her left cheek… All he had to do was just lean a little closer— _shut up,_ he cursed his brain. He felt himself teetering on the edge of something dangerous and he needed to retreat. 

He cleared his throat and tried to back away. “Um, why don’t we call it a night? We should probably get some rest.” 

Her face fell. He supposed she had wanted to stay and enjoy the decorations a little longer. 

“Oh. Alright,” she agreed. 

They disentangled themselves and stood up, making their way towards the side entrance of the restaurant that led into the lobby. Zuko had stepped over the threshold when Katara suddenly grabbed his hand. 

“Zuko, look,” she said, pointing up at something hanging in the doorway. It was a bunch of leafy greens, tied with a red ribbon. 

He scrunched up his nose at it. “What is that?” 

“It’s mistletoe!” 

He froze. 

_Oh._

Before he could panic, Katara put a hand on his shoulder, stepping in close on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss on his cheek. Instead of pulling back though, she stayed in his personal space. They stared at each other again, Zuko taking in her flushed cheeks, the fullness of her lips, the sparkle in her eyes as she glanced down at his mouth, and _fuck, she was beautiful._ He brought up his hand to brush the hinge of her jaw with his thumb, softly, and he felt her breath hitch. He didn’t want to care about the consequences anymore, he just wanted to kiss her. Letting go of his last shred of self-control, he started to close the gap between them, his eyes sliding shut and his hand— 

“Excuse me,” a voice cut in, making them jump apart in surprise. 

That voice. 

The front desk receptionist ( _Tong? Fong? Whatever the fuck his name was,_ Zuko thought.) stood in front of them, arms crossed with the most shit-eating expression on his face.

“Oh, Mr. Sozin, I didn’t see it was you there. So good to see you again,” he said. “I hate to interrupt, but you’re blocking the doorway, and that’s a fire hazard, so I must ask you to move.” 

Zuko resisted the urge to scream. “If it’s a fire hazard then why the fuck—you know what? Never mind. Sorry Hong. Good night.” 

The receptionist’s eyes narrowed at him, but he said nothing as Zuko and Katara trudged to the elevators, the moment thoroughly ruined. As the elevator doors closed, Katara sighed.

“Yong.”

“What?” Zuko looked at her.

“His name is Yong, Zuko. _Yong._ ” 

“Oh.” _Oops._

“You’d better hope we don’t need anything from him tonight,” she said, rolling her eyes. 

“We won’t, it’ll be fine,” Zuko grumbled. By this time, they had reached their room again. Zuko unlocked the door and was immediately overwhelmed with a sense of deja vu as he caught sight of the cause of his earlier anxiety. 

_The fucking bed._

He had completely forgotten about the bed situation, _again,_ and had just fucked things up even further with the hotel worker, so he couldn’t ask for that cot, or extra blankets, or anything to help salvage the situation. Not only that, but he had just been trying to kiss Katara not even ten minutes ago. He wanted to kick himself. 

In a panic, he ran over to his suitcase and started grabbing some things. Despite the sobering realizations, he still had alcohol coursing through his veins, and it made his movements clumsy. Perhaps a shower would help clear his head, not to mention buy him some time away from Katara to figure out what he should do. 

He felt a hand at his shoulder, startling him. 

“Zuko, are you okay? What are you doing?” Katara asked him with an eyebrow raised.

“Oh um, I’m— I gotta shower before bed, I just— yeah, I’m gonna shower,” he said, rushing into the bathroom and locking the door behind him, leaving a bewildered Katara in his wake. He let out a deep breath. He was so fucked. 

After some time spent clearing his head under the very cold spray of the shower, Zuko had formulated his plan of action. He would put the two chairs together in the room together and sleep sitting up, using his coat and perhaps some of his other clothes as a blanket. It would be uncomfortable, but it would at least solve the issue of them having to share the bed. He shook his hair dry in a towel as he walked back into the bedroom. 

He froze. 

Katara was laying on her side on top of the bedcovers, dressed in a baby blue tank and a little slip of a thing that he supposed were shorts, miles of skin on display. Her eyes were closed, her expression peaceful, and Zuko’s eyes slid over the curves of her body before he caught himself, clearing his throat. Her eyes opened slowly, it seemed as if she had dozed off. 

“You’re done?” Katara asked, her voice groggy.

“Yeah,” he replied, stifling a cough. “Um. Aren’t you cold?” 

“I’m Water Tribe, I don’t get cold,” she mumbled. 

He snorted and headed towards the bed, catching sight of her skin, raised with goosebumps. “Don’t get cold, huh? Scoot up,” he ordered, shaking his head. Katara let out a small whine but did as he told her, moving so that Zuko could grab the blankets from under her and tuck her in. She settled under the covers, her eyes sliding closed again as she let out a pleased sigh. The corner of his mouth lifted up in amusement. 

“Good night, Katara,” he said quietly, turning away to assemble his makeshift bed, but Katara’s hand shot out to grab his wrist.

“Get in,” she grumbled again, her eyes still shut.

“Katara, it’s fine, I’m going to sleep on the chair.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Zuko,” she said, tugging on his arm to get him closer to the bed. 

His eyes shifted uneasily between her form under the covers and the uncomfortable looking chairs, before he sighed. “Alright,” he agreed. “But only for a little. Then I’m gonna move to the chair.”

“Mmmhm,” Katara said, the ghost of a smile on her lips. He lifted the covers and slid in beside her, but refused to lay down, instead opting to sit up against the headrest. Katara immediately shifted over so that her head was in Zuko’s lap, causing him to flinch. She tucked the blankets in under her chin, her hand coming to rest on Zuko’s knees under the covers. He tensed as she stroked her fingers idly over his skin. He tried to banish the sudden image of her breasts pressed against the fabric of her sleep top from his mind, pinching the bridge of his nose and breathing out slowly to try and collect himself. He could do this. 

He would just wait until Katara fell back asleep, then he’d sleep on the chair. It would be fine. He brought his hand up to card through the thick tresses of her hair, an old habit of his. They stayed like that for a while, the motion of her hand eventually stilling and the rise and fall of her body steady as she resumed her slumber. She seemed comfortable, he thought to himself. He’d just stay a few moments longer to make sure she stayed asleep and then he would move to the chair. Twenty minutes more wouldn’t hurt. Nothing would happen if he just rested his eyes for a little, either. He slid his body down a little so that he wasn’t sitting up anymore, Katara adjusting her body in her sleep as well, her hand now coming up to rest on his chest. It wasn’t ideal to have her on him like this, but it was only for ten more minutes, he reasoned. His hand was still buried in her hair, and the warmth of her body against his side made him comfortable enough to close his eyes, his mind drifting off. 

— 

That night, Zuko dreamed. 

It wasn’t typical for him to dream at night, but of course the night he shared a cramped room with Katara, fate would have him cursed with visions of her in his head while he slept. In them, his mind conjured up scenarios of what he wished he could do in his waking life— touch her, kiss her, hold her. 

In a particularly vivid dream, he found himself curled up against the warmth of her body, his clothed erection pressed between her ass cheeks. The skimpy shorts she wore to bed had left nothing to the imagination, which is why he supposed it felt so real when she rolled her hips, rubbing herself up against him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, searching for more contact. She continued grinding on him, while one of her hands covered the one he currently had resting against her stomach. She guided his touch up to one of her breasts, feeling her nipple poking through the silken fabric of her sleep camisole as he gave a light squeeze. 

“ _Oh,_ ” she gasped.

Zuko froze. 

His eyes shot open as he realized he was awake, and still pressed flush against Katara. He snatched his hand away as if burned, and jumped out of bed to get as far away from her as possible. 

“Zuko?” Katara had rolled over, sitting up and facing him. Her eyes were half-lidded, her thick hair mussed from sleep, and her top had ridden up to reveal a tempting amount of skin. Zuko tore his eyes away from her quickly, running a hand through his hair to try and gather his thoughts. 

“Shit— Katara, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know— I thought I was sleeping—”

“Zuko—”

“I thought it was a dream, fuck, Katara— I would never— I’m— I am _so, so_ sorry,” he continued, his voice still hoarse from sleep. He started pacing back and forth, his hand back in his hair, too preoccupied to hear her. 

_“Zuko!”_

He stopped in his tracks at her tone, bracing himself for the inevitable fallout. “Yes?” he asked, voice small. 

“Can you let me talk for one second? What are you even apologizing for?” 

“For taking advantage of you while you were asleep—”

“Taking advantage of me?” Katara threw her head back and laughed. Zuko blinked. 

“Yes?”

She looked at him incredulously. “Did you say you thought it was a dream? Were you the one asleep?” 

“Um, yeah, I— I didn’t know that I was actually doing all of that. I’m sorry, Katara.”

“Zuko, I literally put your hand on my boob. You’re fine,” she snorted. “I think I’m the one who should be sorry for misreading the situation.” 

“Wait, so you did that on purpose?” 

“Zuko, I’ve been throwing myself at you for the last year. Do I have to spell it out for you?” Katara asked with a small smirk.

“Um, actually, yes,” Zuko said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, it’s me.” 

Katara laughed again. “You’re right. Come over here then,” she said, sitting up and patting the space next to her on the bed. 

Zuko hesitated for just a moment before plopping down beside her. Her expression sobered. She placed her hand over his and looked directly at him. Her gaze made his heart race and he steeled himself for whatever she was planning to tell him. 

“Zuko, you’re my best friend, and I care for you a lot. But I’ve also been attracted to you for a stupidly long time,” she said. The corner of her mouth quirked up in amusement before she grew serious again. “I want to be something _more_ with you. Is that clear enough?” 

He sat in silence, his brain unable to process what Katara was telling him. He felt her fingers twitch on top of his, and a wrinkle appeared between her brows. 

“Look, it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way, I know—”

“No,” he said quickly. “No, no, it’s not that at all. I just—” He took a breath. “Just give me a second.” 

She nodded, some of the anxiety written in her brow fading as she waited. 

Katara was always so patient with him, even when he was being an idiot about things. He still wasn’t quite sure if this was actually happening or not, but as he searched her face and saw nothing but an unwavering determination that was just so _her,_ he realized he only wanted one thing.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked. 

“Please,” she breathed.

In an echo of the night before, he brought up his hand to the side of her face, for a moment just cradling her face, taking in the bright flush of her cheeks and half lidded eyes that watched his mouth in anticipation. He licked his lips before tilting her face up and leaning in to finally kiss her. 

All of the touches and glances between them couldn’t have prepared him for the heat that unfurled deep in his belly at her touch. One of her arms came up to curl around his neck, pulling him in closer, her other hand clutched at his shirt. She let out a soft gasp and their kiss deepened, Zuko’s hand burying itself in Katara’s hair. For a few minutes, they stayed like that, clutching at each other before they came apart, panting. Katara’s arm around his neck kept Zuko close, and he leaned his face against hers, their noses bumping softly, before Katara let out a laugh. 

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted you to do that,” she said, smiling. 

“I could say the same thing to you.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” she asked him. The hand clutching his shirt slid down his chest, leaving trails of heat on his skin even though the fabric. 

“Why didn’t _you?_ ” he asked, his brow raised. He hooked a finger in one of the straps of her camisole, tugging lightly. His knuckle brushed against her collarbone, drawing a shiver from her.

She met his gaze head on, her eyes dark with desire. 

“Instead of arguing about it, why don’t we just start making up for lost time?” she teased. She tugged at the hem of his shirt. “Off.” 

He wasted no time following her instructions, pulling off his shirt and tossing it aside just in time to see her slip her camisole off, arms stretched above her head. 

He froze at the sight of her breasts, his mind overwhelmed with thoughts of what he wanted to do to them, to _her_. Perhaps he was gawking a bit too long, because she started laughing at him. Reluctantly, he dragged his gaze away to meet her eyes. 

“What?”

“You act like you’ve never seen them before!”

“Well, I mean… I haven’t,” he said, his face heating up. 

“No? Remember Ember Island last year?” she asked, her eyes glinting with amusement. 

_Oh._

His mind flashed with an image of Katara in a pool two summers ago, her bikini top accidentally coming undone and floating away while rivulets of water ran down her chest, her nipples peaked. 

Zuko coughed, feeling his face get impossibly hotter. “That’s not— That’s—”

“It’s okay, I did that on purpose too,” she said. 

“ _What?_ ” He eyed her, sitting back, with nothing but those tiny shorts on and a cheshire grin on her face. Any lingering restraint he felt vanished at her admission. Never mind what she had just revealed, he just wanted to touch. 

“Well, you like— _mmph!_ ” 

He cut her off with a kiss, her yelp of surprise turning into a gasp as she melted against him. Her arms grabbed at his shoulders again as he laid her down gently onto the bed, breaking apart only to press hot open-mouth kisses down the curve of her jaw and the soft skin of her neck. His hands trailed up from her waist, his thumbs brushing the undersides of her breasts, earning another shiver from her. He took a nipple into his mouth, licking and then sucking at it, while one of his hands played with the other, tracing the skin around it with a finger, feeling it harden. Katara ran her hands through his hair, pulling tightly at the strands every time he discovered a particularly sensitive spot.

He moved his mouth away from her chest reluctantly and started kissing his way down her stomach, wishing he could leave the imprint of his lips all over. With a hand still kneading one of her breasts, his lips moved lower and lower until he placed a delicate kiss on the jut of each hip bone. He paused there. He had fantasized about being in this situation a great deal: between Katara’s legs, showing his devotion to her with his hands and his mouth, her skin nearly bare before him. But this wasn’t some daydream he’d conjured up in his mind to get off to, this was real, and this was his best friend. He hesitated, unsure of how to broach that next step. As if reading his mind, she tugged at his hair to get him to come up and kiss her again. 

Katara kissed him like she had something to prove, and it lit a fire deep within him. Her fingers traced the line of his back, the edges of his shoulder blades, and the sides of his torso, her touches growing more frantic the longer they continued kissing. Suddenly, she put one of her hands over his and guided them down between their bodies. Zuko shivered as she slipped both their hands inside of her shorts. 

For a moment, he hesitated again, but she broke off their kiss with a gasp. 

“Please, Zuko,” she said, and he could feel her panting against his lips. 

He could never say no to her and he didn’t want to either, not with her begging him like that. He brought his hand further into her shorts, his fingers sliding between her folds. “Fuck, Katara,” he breathed out. She was impossibly wet, and she let out a moan as he started stroking her slowly. He rubbed slow circles around her clit, and she bit her lip, the little whimpers falling from her mouth urging him on as he started to touch her in earnest. 

“Zuko—” 

“Hm?” 

“I want your fingers inside of me,” she said, and he obliged her immediately, slipping one, then two fingers inside of her pussy. She rocked against him, the heel of his palm brushing against her clit, and drawing another sharp moan from her. She grasped at his wrist then, holding him there. 

“Just like that,” she said, rolling her hips and fucking herself against his fingers. His hand began to ache but it was worth it to see Katara under him working herself toward her peak. As she pushed closer and closer to the edge, he tried to commit to memory everything about her in this moment: the way her brow furrowed and her eyes shut, how she clenched around his fingers, the noises coming out of her mouth, the flex of her thighs as she kept moving her hips. 

Her face was flushed a bright red as she came, her entire body tensing up as she let out a silent gasp. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered. He left his fingers inside of her, slowly moving them as he worked her through aftershocks. Her eyes were glassy as she blinked them open, meeting his gaze. He slid his fingers out of her, his hand slick with her arousal. He popped his fingers into his mouth, closed his eyes, and let out a groan at the taste of her. He wanted to drown in her, and although he was so aroused that he ached, he didn’t want this to end. He wanted to chase more of those moans and gasps, to see her stomach contract again in pleasure, he wanted to give her that and more. 

“Katara,” he said, surprising even himself with how low his voice had gotten. Katara looked at him questioningly. “Can I eat you out?” 

Her eyebrows raised in surprise. His hand teased at the waistband of her shorts, desperate to get them down her legs and off her completely. She glanced down at where his erection was tenting at the front of his pants, then back at his face. 

“But—” she started, before he cut her off. 

“Let me, please?” 

Her breath hitched and she nodded. He stepped off the bed and kneeled at the edge, peeling her shorts off and flinging them to the side. He grabbed her feet and slid her closer to him, earning a yelp from Katara that devolved into giggles. He placed her legs over his shoulders, giving light kisses to her inner thighs. The last of her laughter devolved into a moan as his tongue swiped across her folds before moving to encircle her clit.

Her hands grasped at his hair again, holding his face close to her. He smiled against her and set to work, his tongue lapping around her clit. Her body shuddered and she tried to squirm away, but he held her steady, his arm coming to wrap around her lower stomach. 

“You okay?” he asked, pulling away from her slightly. 

“Yeah,” she replied, lifting her head to look down at him. Her eyes darkened, and he could imagine how he must’ve looked to her right now, on his knees for her, his head between her legs, face covered in her slick. He licked his lips. She laid back down and he watched her chest rise and fall with her heavy breathing. “Sensitive, that’s all,” she sighed. “Please don’t stop.”

He put his mouth right back on her, getting her worked up again with licks, before he started flicking his tongue over her. She shivered beneath him as he continued his ministrations, before sliding two of his fingers inside of her again. 

“Zuko,” she whined, and she pulled at his hair with a bit more force, the pain only serving to encourage him. He stroked at her until he touched a spot inside of her that made her gasp. He kept his fingers there, teasing her, while he sucked her clit into his mouth. Her thighs clamped down around his head as she let out another keening whine, and he kept going until he felt the clench of her around his fingers for the second time. His mouth stayed on her, intending to see her through her aftershocks again, but Katara pulled his head away quickly, trying to catch her breath.

“Too much,” she gasped. “Get over here, I wanna touch you.”

He scrambled up and back onto the bed, laying beside her, but she was breathing heavily, her legs still hanging off the edge of the bed and arms limp at her sides. He couldn’t help the pleased grin spreading across his face at the sight of her, utterly wrecked _because of him._

“Good, I take it?”

“Shut up,” she said, throwing a hand over her eyes. The movement brought his eyesight back to her tits, now glistening with a sheen of sweat. It was easy to ignore the pressing ache of his own arousal when he was worshipping her pussy with his fingers and mouth, but he had to take some of the edge off now before his body combusted. He lifted his hips up and rolled his pajama pants down just enough to release his cock from its confines, lightly slapping against his stomach before he took himself in hand and started stroking. 

By now, Katara had sat up and was watching him with interest, her bottom lip caught between her teeth and her eyes glittering with desire. He felt her hand at his hip.

“Can I?” she asked. 

He nodded eagerly, expecting Katara to take him in her hand. Instead she leaned over him, pushing her hair over one shoulder, and swallowed his cock. 

“Oh, _fuck,_ ” he gasped. His hands clutched at the bedsheets, as she bobbed her head up and down, hollowing her cheeks out and sucking hard, her hand gripping him tightly where her mouth couldn’t reach. She looked up at him through her lashes, her mouth making the most obscene noises. He wasn’t going to last like this. 

“Katara, I’m—fuck, your mouth feels so good,” he moaned, lost in the feel of her around him. He was getting close. 

Katara pulled off of him—and he almost whined at the loss—a string of saliva and precum connecting the tip of his cock to her lips, now shiny and swollen. She started to jerk him off, another groan escaping his lips as he watched her. Nothing in his wildest dreams could have compared to the view in front of him. It was all getting to be too much. 

“Zuko,” Katara started, her voice hoarse, hand still stroking him. “I want you to fuck me, please.”

He let out a strangled cry in his throat as he came, squeezing his eyes shut as he was overcome with pleasure. Katara stroked him through it, and when he opened his eyes again he saw her smirking at him, her chin and chest splattered with his cum. 

Zuko blinked. “I am so—”

She put her hand up. “Don’t. That was insanely hot to watch.” She broke into a grin. His gaze lingered on her mussed up hair and the come that had dripped down one of her nipples, still hard. He needed to lay down. He flopped back and took a deep breath, trying to gather his wits. 

“Good, I take it?” Katara asked with a cheeky smile as she hovered over him. 

“Shut up,” he muttered. “It was amazing,” he added quietly, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment.

Katara’s look softened at his words, and she leaned in to give him a quick kiss. 

“It was,” she agreed. “I’m gonna get something to clean us up, I’ll be right back,” she said, before giving him another peck and walking away. He shivered at the loss of warmth, turning his head to watch her saunter away, her hips swaying and giving him a front seat view of her backside. He groaned out loud, thinking about Katara on his lap, his hands on her ass as she grinded down on him. He got lost in the daydream before the bed dipped as she joined him again, dabbing a damp towel at his face. 

Katara had a passion and fierce determination that she applied to all things that she did in life, and to no one’s surprise, that extended into the bedroom. But it always amazed Zuko how that same fierceness could melt away at the drop of a hat, revealing such a gentle and caring side of her. It was one of the things he loved most about her, and he could admit that to himself now, in the privacy of his mind, that yes, he loved her. It would take a while before he could actually say it out loud to her, but watching her now, he felt his heart swell with emotion. 

Katara paused, the towel laying on his stomach. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.

“I love you,” he blurted out. _So much for “a while.”_

Her eyebrows rose high on her forehead. “What?” she whispered.

He felt his face burn with mortification, his mouth opening and closing, but no words came out. 

“Say it again,” she prompted.

“I love you,” he said quietly.

She kissed him, a brief, sweet press of lips, before pulling away. “I love you too,” she said, her eyes shining with emotion, an expression on her face that he’d seen probably a hundred times before, before it finally clicked. _Oh._

“I’m an idiot.” 

Katara laughed. “You are, but you’re _my_ idiot.” 

She dropped the towel on the nightstand next to the bed, peering at the digital clock on it before settling back onto the bed with her head propped up on his chest. He wrapped an arm around her as she pulled the blankets up around them. 

“We could’ve been doing this for ages,” he muttered to himself. 

“It’s early, we can nap, wake up, and have time left over before we have to check out,” she said, tracing patterns on his skin with a finger. “You still have to fuck me, remember?” 

He made a choked noise. 

“Because I’m not sure we’ll be able to do much after I reintroduce you to my family as my boyfriend.” 

“Oh, fuck.” He had completely forgotten about that. He sat up quickly, startling Katara. “Do you think Gran-Gran is going to yell at me? She still hasn’t forgiven me for the sea prunes thing. Sokka isn’t going to let me hear the end of this either. Oh spirits, this is—” 

“Zuko, calm down,” Katara said, laughing. “Everything’s going to be fine!”

He sighed. “I just… I want them to like me.” 

“They already like you, remember? You’re practically family.”

“This is different though, and you know it.” 

“Just trust me, okay?” She looked at the clock, then back at him with a devilish smirk. “On second thought, forget about the nap. I think you need a distraction.” 

“Do I?” he asked, his interest piqued.

“Mhm,” she said, laying him back down with a kiss.

They barely made their check out time after that, but it was well worth it, if you asked Zuko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> constructive criticism is always welcome! i'm also on [tumblr](https://ladamapintada.tumblr.com/) if you wish to yell at me there.


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